Thank Goodness for Sisters!!!

Aunt Becky's new nickname is "Beck". While I am working Beck has been exploring DC with Ian and Emma. They recently went to the National Cathedral where Ian played with tree branches on the Cathedral lawn. They visited the train exhibit at the Botanical Gardens where Ian played on the fountain ledge outside. They ate muffins and sipped tea at Dean and Deluca in Georgetown. And Beck brought Ian a bike which is the new love of his life. It took Ian about a week of intense training to figure out how to peddle and brake and he is now a pro on the bike. He seems so big and grown up now. Forget about the stroller. We now BIKE to the park. I am always in awe of how many mini stages kids go through. Once you think you have one under control (Ian wanting to walk to the park holding on to the stroller) another one emergse (Ian wanting to bike to the park). New worlds are continually being forged.

I feel like we have gotten into a better sleep routine these days. Ian is still not going to bed until 9pm but he is not waking up in the middle of the night as much anymore. Thank goodness for that!

Ian is really into trains these days. We may have to invest in an electric set for around the Christmas tree. We are also working on Ian's sentences. He currently leaves out his prepositions and what we call "nice words" (like Please, and thank you) saying, "Come play me" so we are making him repeat his requests and sentences. Ian is also amazing us once again and potty training himself. He now wakes up with a dry diaper and runs into the bathroom to go in his potty. I probably should jump on this opportunity to fully potty train him but he is still resisting wearing "big boy underpants."

And Emma...Emma is Emma. She is still a great sleeper, and is starting to interact more and more. She loves standing up. We tried feeding her rice cereal last night and she had no clue what to do so I am thinking I will hold off on the food for a bit as she seems satisfied with milk. She still loves sharing a room with her big brother and even does a great job not waking him up in the mornings.

My posts are completely out of order these days...sorry! Here are some more pictures of our trip to Richmond for the beautiful wedding of Andrew and Clair Stewart. Ian and his second cousin Conner could not have been more adorable. Emma was snuggled the entire time by the Stewart clan. Chaos ensued during breakfast...but what is not chaotic about 18 people eating breakfast in a hotel lobby? Again, I was completely shocked at how well Ian and Emma traveled. It makes me think that trips to Chattanooga and Carmel are not impossible!

Just had to post this picture. It makes me laugh. Are we really a family of four now? Flying seemed so daunting with one child, but two...I still can't believe we survived. Ian is still full from the four pieces of gum he swallowed.

Ian's Sleep Saga

I can't tell if Ian is turning into a jokester, or if he is just being your typical two year old. We have been following Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and Dr. Weissbluth's suggestions to attempt to turn Ian into a better sleeper. Dr. Weissbluth suggests the following: If Ian comes out of his room after we say goodnight we are to pick him up (without looking at him or talking to him) and put him back in his bed. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Dr. Weissbluth says that after doing this for three nights in a row the child should get the picture and start to stay in their bed and go to sleep on their own. He has obviously never met Ian...


The first night Ian came out of his room 111 times before falling asleep. The second night he came out 76 times. The third night 38 times. Now on average he comes out 10-20 times before finally falling to sleep on his own in his bed. He tries several tactics a night to get us to react or play with him before going to sleep. One night I was changing Emma's diaper in our bedroom and I saw a book fly by me and land on the bed. Then a few seconds later Ian comes charging into our room and in a suprised fashion says, "Oh, my book. I found my book." It took everything in me to refrain from laughing. Pick up, do not make eye contact, place in bed, repeat.



Despite falling to sleep at an earlier hour on his own (well kinda), Ian is still waking up several times from the hours of 1am-4am and is now up for the day at 6am. We are still having issues with him falling back to sleep on his own when he does wake up in the middle of the night and since we have been traveling so much lately and don't have a set routine we are just letting it go. Since we are up anyway though I have started putting Emma in Ian's room after her night feeding. They don't seem to be bothered by one another and sleep through the other's crying and wakings.



Our sleep sagas aside, we are enjoying this fall weather. I really can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week and then the Christmas season starts. I am not sure if I am ready for the Christmas carols yet. We have been having such warm weather here in DC it just doesn't seem right.

We have been seeing a lot of our yoga mamma's and babies recently. The boys are finally playing together which is so fun to watch, and the little ones are such sweet happy little babies.

Yoga Mamma's and kids minus Charlie.

The new additions: Emma, Diego and Caitlin

Halloween with yoga mamma's, dads, and kids. Ian refused to dress up so we put on his camo pants and said he was Uncle Matt.

Granola

I am currently addicted to granola. I eat it at all times of the day. The recipe below is my favorite by far...adding lots of cashews and almonds. Once you make it a few times you realize you don't really have to follow the measurements that carefully. We just add whatever we have and whatever we are craving that week, including lots of pumpkin seeds. Granola has been added to the weekly list of things we make. You can never have too much granola!

To Die For Granola...may be adapted from Alton Brown...
Preheat over to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

In a seperate bowl combime:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup (I always add a touch more)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (canola oil works fine as well)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.
Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.

Richmond Wedding

We traveled to Richmond this past weekend for a Stewart wedding. What a great time we had! Ian finally got to meet his second cousin Conner (they are only a week apart). They had a blast terrorizing the Westin and running around at the reception. I was so giddy to stay in a hotel room for one night. No Pippin hair to clean off the floor, no dishes to clean, king size bed...I felt like I was on vacation. We even got to spend some time in the indoor pool and hot tub. Ian loved the hotel almost as much as I did. He was amazed by the "real" phone in the room so much so that he dialed 911. Room service threw him for a loop though. He didn't quite understand how I could order the food over the phone and it arrived at our door sometime later. Regardless he enjoyed his toast and berries!

Emma claimed the bed for her own and slept through Ian playing Angry Birds on the i-pad. When she finally woke up she was as happy as could be and ready for a brother/sister photo shoot.

I love Fridays!!! It is my one day home from work and

I get to hang out with Ian and Emma all day.

How can I get out of this thing...

Still a great sleeper!

Always happy!